Scales › Neapolitan major

Neapolitan major scale

minor below, major above

What color?

Like the Neapolitan minor but with major 6 and 7 (R b9 b3 11 5 13 7): minor in the low range, major in the high, a color both bright and strange.

Origin & history

The major variant of the Neapolitan (minor second, but major 6th and 7th). A scale of Classical theory, used for its expressive tension color.

Which chords to play it on?

Outside the functional consensus: this is an exploration color. Lay it over a vamp or a held chord to tint your improvisation with an unexpected flavor, rather than inside a cadence.

Try it in a real chart

Paste a chord chart into the tool: Pentania tells you, chord by chord, when this scale fits — and what other colors are open to you. Open the tool →